Ptolemy XII Auletes

1st-century BC Egyptian pharaoh

Source-basedFalling

Lived -117–-51, aged 66

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Era
-117–-51
Aged 66

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People connected to Ptolemy XII Auletes

SpouseCleopatra V of Egypt

FatherPtolemy IX Lathyros

MotherCleopatra IV of Egypt

ChildBerenice IV of Egypt

ChildCleopatra

ChildArsinoe IV of Egypt

ChildPtolemy XIII Theos Philopator

ChildPtolemy XIV of Egypt

SiblingBerenice III of Egypt

SiblingCleopatra V of Egypt

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Ptolemy XII ruled Egypt in two separate stints between 80 and 51 BC, earning the nickname Auletes for his obsession with playing the flute at Dionysian festivals. A Ptolemaic dynasty member with roots back to Alexander the Great's circle, his reign was bookended by exile.

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Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes, referring to his love of playing the flute in Dionysian festivals. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, he was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.

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